Starting Friday, utilizing public assistance programs could make it more difficult for some immigrants in the United States to obtain green cards as the Department of Homeland Security implements changes to what is known as the public charge rule.
The new rule gives immigration officials significantly broader discretion in determining whether someone is likely to become primarily reliant on public assistance as part of the process of obtaining a green card.
There is a long history of considering the likelihood that someone will become reliant on public assistance in making determinations and the Trump administration has characterized the change as a return to previous norms, though the update policy is broader than what has been in place in recent decades.
It rescinds a Biden-era rule from 2022 that limited what could be considered in determining whether someone could become a public charge, including primarily cash assistance programs and long-term institutionalization at government expense.
While the Trump administration says the change is an effort to ensure immigrants are self-sufficient, those opposed say public charge laws were never intended to prevent applicants from utilizing assistance programs if they fall on hard times and warn the change could lead people to avoid assistance they need.
“It seems somewhat precarious when you’re giving so much power to an individual,” said Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition in reference to the broad discretion, adding that advocates are concerned about decisions being made on a whim without concrete guidance.
Under the new rule, officials will be able to consider a broader variety of factors and programs in determining whether someone is likely to become primarily reliant on public assistance.
“Not only to determine who could be a public charge but who could potentially become a public charge. They could just decide if this person who isn’t a public charge may down the road become one,” Awawdeh said.
On top of existing criteria, officials will consider things like cash assistance for income maintenance, housing assistance, food stamps, financial aid for college or other similar benefits.
The Trump administration characterized the change is an effort to align federal immigration law with “Congressional intent” that impacted immigrants in the United States be “self-reliant and not dependent on taxpayer-funded government benefits.”
New York this week sued to stop the rule, joining a coalition of 21 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit led by Attorney General Letitia James seeking to block implementation of the change. New York City joined in spearheading a separate lawsuit alongside other municipalities.
“To get to any of us, you will have to get to any of us,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
Nevertheless, in the meantime, the new rule is taking effect. That concerns people like Queens Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, who told Spectrum News 1 it runs contrary to the historical intent of the public charge rule.
“It was never intended to prevent people from using programs when they are in need that are temporary,” she said.
González-Rojas says the current guidance from the federal government is unclear, and there is concern that impacted individuals could forgo programs they need without understanding how the rule applies to their specific circumstances, urging them to contact the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs if in New York City.
“We really urge New Yorkers to talk with a legal expert that they trust because we don’t want people automatically dis-enrolling in programs because their particular situation may not be impacted, the rules are very unclear,” González-Rojas said.
Federal law already requires officials to consider whether certain people seeking permanent residency are likely to become a public charge. The first Trump administration adopted a similarly expansive public charge rule in 2019, prompting extensive litigation. A federal appeals court upheld an injunction against portions of that rule in New York, Connecticut and Vermont before the Biden administration later stopped defending the rule and replaced it with the narrower 2022 standard as part of the process of obtaining a green card.